“Will” by Lydia Zinov’eva-Annibal had many complex symbolic undercurrents whose significance I could not fully grasp. One interesting image that came up in multiple places throughout this text was that of the spring “earth”. Zinov’eva-Annibal first uses it in a literal sense when our main character takes her horse out of the barn. She describes the “spring grove” saying that “the swollen, rich earth thrust up the first tiny rays of green grass” (180). This image, especially the use of the word “swollen,” depicts the earth as the birthplace, or a mother, of the new spring growth. The next image of the “earth” occurs when the main character’s carriage gets stuck in the spring mud; she describes her predicament saying, “You can’t hold back the earth in spring, it’s like a quagmire with no bottom. The earth opens” (181). The earth described here is very different from the earth that “thrust up” the grass on the page before; instead of a creator, it is a swallower.
The significance of these two sides of the spring “earth” is made more clear when our main character finds out that her friend Alena has died in childbirth. When the main character first walks into Alena’s hut, she describes what sees, saying, “On the floor, on the hay — a body. The legs are bent sharply up at naked knees. The head is thrust back. The face is gray as earth” (182). The use of the article “the” instead of “her” in reference to Alena’s body parts immediately stood out to me in its dehumanization of her dead body. The comparison of her face with the “earth” recalls both meanings of image that I discussed earlier. Alena has created life as she just gave birth, but she is all becoming a part of the all-subsuming “quagmire” in her death. Zinov’eva-Annibal emphasizes the importance of this image as she uses it two more times to describe Alena’s dead body just on page 182. The impersonal description of her body and the inclusion of her death with the earth’s natural cycling indicated to me that Zinov’eva-Annibal’s idea of mortality mapped on quite well with Tolstoy’s as depicted in “The Three Deaths”. Her “earth” and his “tree” symbolism seem to both suggest that although death is sad, it is natural and makes way for new life. One aspect of “Will” that confused me in this respect, however, was the main character’s reaction to Alena’s death. I would be interested to hear all of your ideas on this subject, especially as it relates to Alena’s baby.
I agree that the main character’s reaction to Alena’s death was incredibly nuanced, and the interpretation of death as part of a natural cycle is very prominent in the end of the story. Personally, I interpreted the use of “the” to describe Alena’s dead body as not completely objectifying rather the incorporation of her body into the natural world and the continuation of her existence. By incorporating Alena into the Earth, her life after death has an ongoing purpose which I believe contributes to the main character’s sense of joy and love even in the face of her friend’s tragic death. She is comforted knowing that her friend is still with her through her connection to nature.
Along with your analysis of how the narrator initially felt about Alena’s death, I think that the narrator was commenting on the separation of her past memory of Alena to seeing her lifeless body at that moment. Specifically, I think the narrator dealt with the shock of that moment by distancing herself and becoming impersonal about it. I would also like to point out that despite the impersonal description of Alena’s body, the narrator still holds deep respect and love for her friend. She goes on to say that she would give her life for her friend. Additionally, I think that the text acknowledged the different lives of both women so well.